I bought one a few years ago to keep myself safe and legal and I was absolutely surprised at where 0.08 was. Sometimes it's two beers, usually three session beers and it's even been one IIPA on an empty stomach. Point is, when you're drinking you usually underestimate your true level.

I tried the cheapo $40 breathalyzer about 12 years ago. It worked will enough to help calibrate the relationship between how I felt and BAC but the response time is slow, like several minutes. After a while I started to get pretty good at predicting BAC and don't seem use it as frequently now. I always keep it in the console of my truck, good for a little reality check before turning the key, just in case I'm not as good at predicting as I think. When you go to a brew club meeting, it's impossible to keep track of alcohol intake with small samples of various strength beers, much more difficult than tracking those 3 Bud's or whatever.

I have now upgraded to a meter with "fuel cell technology", whatever that is, anyway, it produces results in a few seconds and is a quality piece. Cost was about $120, cheap insurance in my book, if used properly. One key to an accurate reading is to not drink anything for about a half hour before testing, otherwise the alcohol in your mouth causes a false positive. Waiting that half hour is usually a good thing anyway but it makes the tool less effective in a party environment because people have a hard time waiting.

Right. What I'm pointing out is that the per se limit makes you intoxicated "per se" regardless of your personal impairment level. But, it does not mean you are innocent if you are under the per se limit. If the officer observes evidence of impairment you may still be going to jail no matter what the BAC level is. Also, DUI is not the only alcohol driving crime.

Hopefully, this is all just interesting banter and my state will keep the .080 limit. Consistently detecting impairment below .080 is not easy. IME most people who exhibit driving impairment and failure of sobriety tests are well above .080.

In short, the point I'm trying to get across is that the idea that as long as you are under the per se limit you are good to go,,, wrong idea! A driver who is under the legal limit can still be found guilty of an alcohol related driving crime.